


New Soldier/Old Enemy

by jsaint34



Series: Super-Soldier [4]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Gen, Multi, romanogers - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-09
Updated: 2014-08-10
Packaged: 2018-02-12 11:45:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 28
Words: 19,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2108652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jsaint34/pseuds/jsaint34
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is the fourth and final story in my Super-Soldier series.  This is is not for the faint of heart.  I have heard of the animated movie Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow.  I haven't seen it, but I know the basic plot, and how Ultron kills the Avengers and their kids take up the fight.  With Avengers: Age of Ultron coming to theaters next year, I wrote my own take on the future of the team and their children.  I want you all to know I had a hard time writing this one and it is significantly darker than the previous stories.  Please bear with me and read through to the end.  Feedback would be appreciated. I hope you all enjoy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fall of Avengers Tower

Prologue: Time Goes By  
Steve and Natasha Rogers couldn’t imagine their lives could ever get any better. They’ve been married for sixteen years and have two twin children. An extroverted son James Joseph Rogers, and a beautiful daughter, Talia Alaina Rogers. As Avengers these two have fought enemies, human and alien alike. Every challenge, every threat has only brought them closer together. Over the past years the team has become more than friends, they’ve become family. Clint and Bobbi’s daughter Becca Barton was born two years after James and Talia. She would grow up to be just as beautiful and strong willed as her mother. As Talia would grow up, she would be somewhat shy and reserved, much like her father in his youth, her brother would be more outspoken, and sometimes aggressive but unwilling to let people in, much like Natasha before she met Steve. As birthdays came and went the twins would show remarkable intelligence, and abilities that rivaled those of their parents. This of course came from the combination of the serums passed down genetically from Steve and Natasha. When their fifteenth birthday came the Avengers would face a threat that none of them would expect, and it would come from within.

The day of James and Talia’s fifteenth birthday arrived. Steve, Tasha, Clint and Bobbi had the party all planned out. Most of the Avengers were in attendance, except Thor who had returned to Asgard for the anniversary of the memorial service for Queen Frigga. Jane went with him to pay her respects even though in the intervening years she had married someone else. On Asgard Thor was finally reunited with Sif, reigniting a relationship they had both thought long since ended. Thor would finally ascend to the throne with a new Queen at his side.  
“Morning beautiful,” Steve says he as looks over at Tasha while she finishes preparing their kids favorite birthday breakfast.  
“About time you woke up, sleepy head, I was beginning to think you would sleep the whole day away,” she replies with a smile.  
“Are you kidding, not even another alien invasion would keep me from missing this day.”  
“Well let’s hope we don’t have to deal with one of those again.” Tasha walks barefoot back over to the couch where Steve has just woken up and sits with him. “That was a rough assignment you had yesterday. You came in and crashed here on the couch after kissing me hello. You’re getting old Rogers.”  
“Well I did turn 112 almost a month ago. “I’m lucky I’ve got you to keep me feeling young.”  
“I always tell you’re only as old as you feel.”  
Tasha climbs on his lap and gives him a deep passionate kiss, as the kids walk in and see the display.  
“Oh come on Mom, can’t you guys go to your room if you’re going to do that, we really don’t want to see you making out with Dad when we get up on our birthday,” James says.  
“Hey, leave them alone,” Talia says. “I didn’t whine when I caught you making out with Becca in Uncle Tony’s movie theater.”  
Steve and Tasha look at each other and say the same thing: “They take after you, you know.” Sharing this joke, they burst into laughter; the kids just roll their eyes.  
“God, you two are so lame,” James says.  
“Well, get ready for it son, because it’s genetic,” Steve says. After another bout of laughter, Tasha finally calms down and questions their children.  
“So, it’s your fifteenth birthday, what would you like to do after breakfast?”  
Before they can answer the power goes out in their apartment as Tony comes over the building intercom.  
“Avengers! Report to the Situation Room. This is a Priority Seven Alert. Threat level red!”  
Slipping back into Cap mode, Steve starts issuing directions.  
“James, Talia, stay here, you’ll be safe. Your mother and I better go check this out.”  
“Stay here, Dad…come on, can’t we…,”James complains  
“No arguments. This is for your own good.” Quickly Steve and Tasha suit up as best they can and take the stairwell down to the situation room. As they arrive Tony is speaking with Jarvis trying to defeat the virus over-riding his systems.  
“Jarvis, enable security protocol eight, the new virus blockers should…”  
Jarvis interrupts him: “I’m sorry, Sir, but all security protocols have been rewritten. I have no access; I am no longer in control of the tower.”  
“Bullshit Jarvis. I programmed you; there isn’t anyone alive who can do this. Not even Modok…” The realization dawns on him that Modok didn’t just hijack the sound system fifteen years ago, he planted the virus. Not being programmed for emotions, Jarvis can only apologize as Modok corrupts the entire tower.  
“I’m sorry Sir, it appears that I am…,” Jarvis isn’t even able to finish his statement.  
“Greetings, Stark,” Modok says. “I warned you fifteen years ago that if you defeated my Cabal I would be back, and the Avengers would die.”  
“You don’t have the capability for that Modok,” Tony replies. “We beat you and your goon squad, we can do it again.” Clint, Bobbi, and Bruce have arrived and are being filled in by Steve and Tasha.  
“Nat, what’s going on,” Clint asks.  
“Modok again, he never learns and we always beat him.”  
“Well, come on Tony, what’s the plan,” Bruce asks. “How do we beat him this time?”  
“Excellent question Dr. Banner, the answer is this time you don’t. I have complete control of the tower. Now I will turn it against you,” Modok replies.  
Weapons start coming out of the walls, and doors are magnetically sealed, Tony looks up with regret in his eyes.  
“Guys, I’m sorry, this is a battle we can’t win,” he says. Ever the consummate leader, Steve refuses to give up.  
“BULLSHIT, Tony. We’re Avengers, we always survive. Let’s Move!”  
From outside the room a blast explodes through the door, standing there ready to assist is War Machine.  
“Come on! Modok can’t hit what he can’t catch. Move it!”  
One by one the Avengers exit the room, a blur of motion disabling the tower’s weapons. With Rhodey covering for him, Tony gets to the fabrication room, and suits up.  
“This is a lot easier when Jarvis is controlling the robots. Come on, Dummy, get that booster pack in place!”  
Steve, Clint, Bobbi, and Tasha move through the tower as a unit, covering each other’s backs and taking appropriate offensive action. All four of them only have one thing on their minds, save the children. By now though James, Talia and Becca all know something is wrong, gathering up what weapons they could find, they head down in search of their parents. When all seven of them unite on the team recreation floor, Steve starts to lead the way down again to the main lobby.  
“All right, let’s move. We’ve got Iron Man and War Machine providing cover fire. Hulk is creating a pathway to the outside. We’ve got one chance to make it out. Our path leads us down through the emergency stairwell to the lobby. If we come across a space Hulk has created we jump. Clint, Becca, take out any guns you can find, use explosive arrows. Tasha, the Widow’s Bite, the electric charge may disable the weapons long enough. Bobbi, use the flash grenades, I have no doubt these can blind the sensors. James, Talia stay on my six,” Steve calmly addresses the group.  
With Steve leading them, they make it through a maze of gunfire and explosions. As they reach the lobby almost all of their weapons are spent, and Modok speaks to them again.  
“Sorry Captain, but none of you will escape my vengeance. At the time of your little escape attempt I had already set the tower’s self-destruct timer. The lobby doors are sealed, your death is inevitable.”  
As he pushes Tasha and the kids forward, Steve turns and sees one last gun emerge from the walls; Modok uses his technopathy to aim it directly at Tasha and his children, throwing his shield to protect them, he takes the first bullet in the chest, and as he goes down, Tasha rushes to his side, still trying to save him. She shouts to Clint and Bobbi.  
“Hawkeye, get them out of here! Mockingbird, help him, save the children! Steve, Steve stay with me, don’t leave…”  
With his last ounce of strength he reaches up, placing a hand on her face, Tasha I love…”  
“Mom, come on,” Talia screams. “Dad’s gone, we’ve got to get out of here!”  
Tasha doesn’t want to leave, but she has to help protect her children, Steve would want her too. Tony and Rhodey have blasted their way down through the floors trying to protect the others, with Hulk not far behind them. As Tasha runs for the door, a last bullet ricochets off Tony’s armor, and strikes her in the spine, severing it. She falls and as Tony sees Bobbi and Clint go down as they went back to help, he knows it’s up to him and Rhodey.  
“Rhodey, get James. I’ve got Talia! Hulk save Becca, we’re all that’s left! Move it,” Tony shouts.  
Tony and Rhodey blast the doors open and fly the remaining survivors to safety, with Hulk carrying Becca. They escape just as the self-destruct system brings the tower down. Looking around, Tony surveys the scene, making sure everyone is accounted for. He sees everyone except:  
“Pepper! Rhodey, where’s Pepper?”  
“I thought she was right behind us,” Rhodey says.  
“I have to go back in there, I have to find her,” Tony screams.  
“You’ll never make it, the tower is coming down to fast, she’s gone Tony…”  
“No she’s not,” a voice says from behind them. “It’s a lucky thing you made this armor for me all those years ago Tony.”  
They all turn around as Pepper; wearing the Rescue Armor lands behind them.  
“What about my parents, Aunt Pepper, did they make it,” Becca asks.  
“I’m sorry, Becca, they didn’t make it. They went back to try and save Steve and Natasha.”  
“So now what? Where do we go, what do we do Uncle Tony,” Talia asks.  
“I know where we’ll go, and I know what we’ll do. We regroup and then we make Modok pay.”  
“We’ll need a place to hide out,” Bruce says.  
“I know just the place, it’s isolated, well protected, and I may be able to still link up to Jarvis. The tower wasn’t the only place he had an interface,” Tony says.


	2. Cabin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What remains of the Avengers are beaten. Tony makes the decision to take them to Steve and Nat's cabin in upstate New York.

James has barely spoken since the tower fell. The entire ride was agony for all of them. Bruce was driving with Tony, Pepper, and Rhodey flying air support should Modok learn of their survival. As they pull up Talia wonders why they came here. It’s just the old family cabin in upstate New York. They had some good memories here, but she’s not sure how it can help them.  
“Uncle Tony, what are we doing at the cabin? It may be a place to hide out, but what can it provide to help us take down Modok?”  
“Things are not always what they seem, kid,” Tony says. “Jarvis? You still with me?”  
“Of Course, Sir. Just because the tower fell, the fail safes in my systems prevent Modok from accessing them out here. He actually has no way of knowing I survived his attempts to eliminate me.”  
“It’s good to hear your voice again J. You know what to do.”  
“Activate the House Party Protocol 2, Sir?”  
“You got it.”  
Jarvis activates his directive and the ground begins to open up and the walls of the cabin expand outward. As they all watch astonished, they see more tech than they ever could have imagined in the tower. As Tony steps down into the facilities beneath the cabin he looks back at their questioning eyes.  
“What, you’re surprised? This was my cabin first. My dad left it to me. So of course I didn’t tell Steve about everything I had installed here. Welcome to the Avengers Training Facility Mark IV.”  
The remaining Avengers all follow behind him, with the kids entering last. The breather enables Tony, Rhodey, and Pepper to have their armor removed so they can get some rest. After they are all inside Jarvis closes the ground back up and the interior lights come on.  
“Okay, so now that we’re all here, we begin training you kids to fight, and when you’re ready we take the fight to Modok,” Tony says. “I’m not going to let him get away with destroying our family. He made it personal. We get him and we take down whoever helped. We avenge the deaths of our team.”  
Meanwhile in Asgard, Heimdall enters the throne room with distressing news for the new King and his wife.  
“My apologies for disturbing you at this hour Thor, Lady Sif. I have news from Midgard.”  
“Speak freely Heimdall, you have never had to explain yourself or apologize for your actions,” Thor says.  
“Your Majesty, I regret to inform you that Avengers Tower has faded from my sight. I can no longer see any of your team. I fear the worst.”  
“Then I must go. Sif, I do not ask you to join me. I know Midgard ill suits you.”  
“Where you go Thor, I go. I would have the Warriors Three join us as well. I would very much like to see Son of Coul again.”  
“Summon the Warriors Three. We depart within the hour,” Thor says.  
Fandral, Hogun and Volstagg join Thor and Lady Sif in the throne room a short time later.  
“What news, my King,” Fandral asks.  
“My friends, I fear what fate may have befallen the Avengers in my absence. Heimdall can no longer see them. If any of them have survived I must know. Sif and I will go to Midgard, we will have need of your assistance.”  
“What would you have us do, Thor,” Hogun asks. “Shall we defend the kingdom in your stead?”  
“Thor wants us to come with him,” Volstagg says. “I would like to see Earth again.”  
“Then we go. Your Majesty, you lead, we will follow you,” Fandral confirms.  
“Then we have not a moment to lose. Let us go to the Bifrost.”  
Heimdall, The Warriors Three, Thor, and Sif return to the bridge and in short order are transported to Earth, and the ruins of Avengers Tower. Odin takes up his former place on the throne until his son returns. As Thor and his friends arrive at the tower Phil Coulson is inspecting the remains.  
“Son of Coul, my heart is pleased to see you even in these dire circumstances,” Thor says to his old friend.  
“Welcome back to Earth, Thor. I wish I had better news to give you.”  
“There are no signs of my friends then? I did fear the worst when Heimdall delivered the news.”  
“Unfortunately we seem to have found what could be the remains of Natasha Rogers, Bobbi and Clint Barton, and Steve Rogers,” Phil’s voice cracks for the three former SHIELD agents, but most of all for his idol.  
“What could have caused this? Who would have the power to destroy the tower,” Sif asks.  
“From what we have been able to gather, the self-destruct system was activated from within. The weapons systems were turned on the team before that.”  
“You only mentioned four Avengers. What of Iron Man, War Machine, Banner, Lady Pepper and the children? Did they not survive,” Thor asks sadly.  
“We have no signs of them. We can hope, but until we have some form of communication, we won’t know anything,” Phil replies.  
Just as Phil is finishing his statement, Fandral sees a flashing blue light in the rubble of the tower. Moving the remains aside, he finds a damaged red and gold helmet.  
“Thor, perhaps you should see this,” he says. Handing his king the helmet the light responds to the hand of an Avenger. An automated message from Tony Stark begins to play.  
“If you’re hearing this, then the tower has fallen. The Avengers have been compromised from within. Possible enemies behind this include Baron Zemo, Modok, The Red Skull or a combination of all of them. There were most likely casualties. If any of us have survived, there will be coordinates leading to our location following this message. If the Avengers have indeed all fallen, it is up to you to carry on our fight. The World needs heroes now more than ever. Avengers fight on, Stark out.” As he said in his message the coordinates played after the end. Coulson would call May and Skye.  
“May, Skye, I have a set of coordinates I need you to trace. Avengers’ tower has been decimated. These coordinates lead to the last surviving members of the team.”  
“Phil, are you sure about this, what if it’s a trap. This could be a ploy to eliminate SHIELD as well,” May says.  
“The coordinates came from a message in a damaged Iron Man helmet. Only Tony Stark can record this type of communique. Trace them, we need to find out who did this.” After a few moments, Skye comes back with the location.  
“Coulson, the coordinates are for a cabin in Upstate New York. It’s about an hour drive north of your present location. I think you’ll know this cabin.”  
“The cabin of Steve and Natasha. Given to them by Tony Stark. Thor, we should start there,” Phil says.  
“Then we must be off. I can fly there, but how will the rest of you get there?”  
“Don’t worry about that, May, bring in the Bus.”  
The jet lowers down from the sky and converts into hover mode. May opens the rear hatch and Triplett is there.  
“Come on guys. You want to get to this cabin in a hurry, better get on board.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter features a visit to Asgard and Thor's return to Earth along with his Queen, Lady Sif and their friends The Warriors Three.


	3. Unseen ally

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Modok is watching his handiwork when his unseen ally pays him an unexpected visit.

From his current A.I.M headquarters Modok watches the recorded footage of the tower falling repeatedly. If he could feel happiness he would be overjoyed at the demise of his most hated enemies. With the Avengers gone, he can now begin his plans for world domination. From the shadows a voice speaks to him.  
“You have done well, Modok. With the codes to the Tower I provided for you and the virus you planted fifteen years ago to be released this very day, you have done what no one else was able too. You have eliminated the threat of the Avengers. Now the future will be safe and secure for all.”  
“You don’t need to tell me what I’ve done my ally. I’ve watched it over and over again in my sadistic glee. It’s only a shame the Asgardian wasn’t there to fall with his team.” This statement angers the unseen one.  
“Thor lives? Then you have not completed your task as I thought you did. Perhaps I should have handled this myself as I planned from the beginning.”  
“If you had, and the Avengers learned of your presence, your future would never occur the way you want it too. That is why you sought out my assistance. You would be wise to remember that,” Modok replies.  
“Have a care in how you speak to me, head. I could easily travel further back in time and prevent you from ever existing. You would be wise to remember that!”   
A flash of light signifies the departure of Modok’s unknown ally. As he goes back to watching the destruction for a fifth time, Modok does have to think to himself.  
“Without my intellect, he would never been able to get close to Avengers Tower. He is a fool to think I could be a lackey to him. When I recreate the world, his future will cease to exist anyway. It will be my future where all bow down to me.”  
Returning from his inner monologue Modok calls out to one of his agents.  
“Lackey! It is time to begin implementing my plans. First we take New York, and the then world! Begin the preparations for Project Inferno.”  
“Yes, Modok. Preparations will begin immediately,” the agent says.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Most of the chapters with Modok and his ally are going to be shorter. They serve as a bridge to the chapters that follow. His ally is a well known character in Avengers history. Stay tuned for the reveal in later chapters.


	4. News Reports

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phil and his team are on their way to Stark's Cabin with Thor and his friends in tow. Fearing another attack, Jarvis is first to respond to their presence.

As the Bus flies to the cabin, May calls out to Coulson.   
“We’re twenty minutes out, Phil. It may be time to stop radio silence and let them know we’re coming.”  
“Not a good idea, we don’t know if the cabin has been compromised. We wait for them to make first contact.”  
As they near their destination, a communication is transmitted from the Cabin via Jarvis.  
“I have you on our scanners. This is a secure facility, identify yourselves or we will take hostile measures to ensure our safety.”  
Phil recognizes the voice and speaks before May can.  
“Jarvis, this is Agent Coulson. We followed the coordinates from Stark’s automated message. I have some allies with me who wish to assist you in recovery efforts and attempts to catch who destroyed the tower.”  
“Agent Coulson, voice recognition process complete. Welcome to the new Avengers Tower. We stand ready to receive you and your allies. You are free to land, Mr. Stark is waiting for you.”  
“Thanks, Jarvis. Coulson out.”  
As May brings the jet to the ground there is very little room for her to land. Lowering the hatch enough to get the cars out, Phil drives his car with Trip driving the S.U.V. with Fitz, Simmons, and Skye riding with him. Thor, Sif and the Warriors Three step off the plane following them. May flies the plane back up into the air to find a secure landing place, so she can ride the motorcycle back. Tony leaves the cabin to greet the new arrivals, while Jarvis opens up the underground facility and the rest of the new team steps out. James walks over to Phil’s car to admire the classic.  
“Don’t touch Lola,” Phil says as James places a hand on the hood.  
“Coulson, it’s been a while. How is the New SHIELD holding up,” Tony asks.  
“Don’t you think we should dispense with the pleasantries, Stark? I’ve been to the tower, what the hell happened?”  
“Modok happened. Sixteen years ago when his Cabal attacked, we thought he only hijacked Jarvis’ communications system. In truth, he planted a virus that completely wiped out all the security directives installed.”  
“That’s impossible, you designed the security system, and SHIELD checked and rechecked the protocols. How could he compromise everything?”  
“If I knew that, my friends wouldn’t be dead. These kids wouldn’t be orphans now. When I find Modok, I’m going to rip his circuitry to pieces until I get the answers I want.”  
“Tony, my heart hurts as much as yours,” Thor says. “Anger will not bring our friends back. You do not need to do anything rash that will cause more death, than we have already experienced.”  
“Who do you think you are, telling me how to feel? You weren’t here Point Break. You should have been, maybe if we’d had the Thunder God this wouldn’t have happened,” Tony shouts back at him.   
Thor becomes angry at the accusations Tony is throwing his way. The Avengers have always been his second family, but he has responsibilities as King of Asgard.   
“Have a care how you speak to me metal man, I lost family too. If the corruption of the Tower was as complete as you say, there is nothing any of us could have done.” Thor raises Mjolnir, preparing to defend himself if Tony attacks him like when they fought over Loki. Showing that she is becoming more like her father every day, Talia steps in between them, quickly putting an end to the battle of egos.  
“That’s enough! Fighting amongst ourselves won’t solve anything. Uncle Tony, you need to calm down. Thor and his friends are here to help. I suggest we get back to training for the battle with Modok.”  
“Your father would be proud of you young one,” Thor says. “He was the only one who could end the first battle between Stark and I and get us to work together.”  
“I’ve heard the story; it was right before the Chitauri invaded led by your brother.”   
Stepping out of the cabin, Pepper calls them in to see the news reports on the T.V.  
“Hey guys, you might want to come see this. We’ve got another problem.”  
“As we reported earlier today, Avengers Tower in New York City has been decimated. So far none of the Avengers have been accounted for. Early reports say the tower was attacked from within. Inside the remains of the tower E.M.T.s have recovered four bodies, while their identities have not been confirmed as examinations are still under way, it is believed that they are Steven Rogers: Captain America, Natasha Romanoff: The Black Widow, Clint Barton: Hawkeye, and Barbara Morse Barton: Mockingbird. Listed as missing are Tony Stark, Colonel James Rhodes, Pepper Potts-Stark, and Dr. Bruce Banner. So far no one had claimed responsibility for this attack, until we…,” “Mute,” Tony says. “Pepper, we know all of this and if any of our enemies including Modok think we’re dead, it will be easier for us to take him down.”  
“Tony, if you’d listened to the whole report,” Pepper pauses. “Jarvis, resume playback.”  
“So far no one had claimed responsibility for this attack until we received this message. We feel must warn you that the accompanying audio could be extremely graphic.”  
“Citizens of New York, I am Modok. I have destroyed Avengers Tower. I have slaughtered your heroes. Your city now belongs to me. I demand that all world leaders surrender immediately or I will take control of every nuclear arsenal. The world will bow to Modok!”  
“At this time by orders of the Governor all citizens are encouraged to stay indoors. This Modok’s organization, known as A.I.M has entered the city. They claim to be preparing a Project Inferno. Attempts to contact the X-Men and The Fantastic Four have gone unanswered. If they have fallen like the Avengers, then God help us.”  
Tony shuts the television off; every remaining member of the Avengers is at a loss of what to do next. They have seen crises of unimaginable proportions before, but nothing could have prepared them for this.


	5. Future Timeline

While A.I.M takes control of New York, and the Avengers try to formulate a battle plan, Modok’s unseen ally has returned to his own timeline. Summoned to a meeting by the cross-time council, he makes his way into their chambers.  
“Greetings, we would congratulate you on the deaths of the Avengers, but four have survived. Your plans to use the updated technology of Anthony Stark and the codes we used to control the tower have seemed to fail. Our own technology is based on that of Stark and the tyrant Dr. Doom. Involving Modok was a mistake. He let his personal vendetta get in the way. As such, Thor, Iron Man, War Machine and the Hulk have survived. Even now they are beginning to train the children of the fallen Avengers. This could still lead to the destruction of all that exists. All of our timelines are now in jeopardy. This is a situation that must be addressed. None of them must survive.”  
“I will make sure all of them die. You have my word.”  
“Words mean nothing. Only action, the destruction to be caused to Earth must not occur. The children must not become Avengers!”  
Angered at Modok’s failure his ally transports himself back in time. He plans to reveal himself if Modok and A.I.M should fail again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Modok's ally learns of the survival of Iron Man, War Machine and The Hulk. He is displeased with the failure, to say the least.


	6. Training

Tony is working on developing new tech that will be immune to Modok’s technopathy. While he does this, Bruce, Rhodey, Sif, and The Warriors Three work on training the children. Bruce would work with them on controlling their anger and harnessing it to fight better. Rhodey would help Becca with her aim as a moving target so she could learn to shoot like her father. Sif, Fandral, and Hogun would be in charge of teaching hand to hand combat. When they were not training with their teachers James and Talia would each work on learning to wield their Father’s shield. These sessions would create some division between the twins.   
“It’s my turn to practice with the shield, James. You’ve had it for two hours,” Talia says.  
“I’m the oldest, and I’m the boy. I should be the one to be the next Captain America.”  
“Yeah, you’re older by 10 minutes. Uncle Tony says we should both be proficient in the use of the shield. Are you saying that because I’m a girl I can’t be the next Captain America?”  
“Not in so many words, but yeah.”   
“You know I’m more like dad, besides you remember Uncle Tony’s stories about Carol Danvers. She went by the name of Captain Marvel.”  
“Uncle Tony made her up. She wasn’t real. You should be the next Black Widow.”  
As James and Talia’s argument starts to get more intense, Tony comes out of his office and has to put a stop to it before it gets physical.  
“Hey, this fighting is no way to honor the memory of your Mother and Father,” he says. “James, give your sister the shield.”  
Look, Tony, I don’t think a girl should be the next Captain…”  
“Okay, I’ll overlook the disrespect by calling me by my first name, Jimmy, but if your sister wants to carry the legacy of Captain America, then that is her right. Remember the stories of Carol Danvers?”  
“Not her again, I know she wasn’t real. Don’t call me Jimmy.  
“Actually, Carol is very real, and she’ll be here in a day or two. She’s been off fighting in the Kree war. While you two were still infants, she helped fill in for your mother. Now, I don’t want to hear anymore fighting that doesn’t revolve around your training.” Tony goes back into his office, sits down and wants to curse Steve and Natasha for raising two kids that have proven to be more independent and stubborn than they ever were.  
“Thanks a lot you guys. Your kids really are just like you. I’m amazed that you two could handle them.” Pepper comes in to try and help him calm down.  
“I heard all of that Tony. You would have made a great father the way you handled that situation,” Pepper tells him.  
“Maybe, but I wouldn’t want what happened to me when my parents were killed to ever happen to our kids if we had them.”  
“Or what happened to Steve, Nat, Clint and Bobbi?”  
“Them too, no child should have to grow up without their parents.”  
Trying to turn their conversation to a somewhat lighter subject, Pepper brings up the upgrades he was working on.  
“Any luck developing technology resistant to Modok?”  
“I think I’ve got it figured out. But I won’t know until we can actually test it.”  
“What about Modok himself? Have you been able to track him down yet?”  
“No, and it’s infuriating. I’m a tech genius, how can I not find him?”  
At that moment, Rhodey would buzz the intercom, calling with news on that very front.  
“Hey, guys you might want to get up here. Modok is issuing another threat.”  
Arriving at the upper floor Tony and Pepper sit and listen to the news.  
“This just in, we have just received word that Modok has issued a demand. We go now live to the Capitol.”  
“It has come to my attention that some of the Avengers may have survived the destruction of their tower. The world’s leaders have already failed to surrender to me. I now have control of the world’s nuclear arsenal. Project Inferno is ready to commence. If these remaining Avengers do not turn themselves in, I will launch in twelve hours. The clock is ticking.”  
“So what do we do now,” Becca asks.  
“Modok’s bluffing. Ever since he made his first threat about the nukes, I’ve been tracking them. There has been no unusual activity anywhere in the world. You have to scan the retina of a country’s leader to launch,” Bruce says.  
“Then we call his bluff. We can’t wait any longer,” Tony says. “Avengers Assemble!”  
“What about us? What do we do,” James asks.  
“You stay here. If we don’t make it back, someone needs to be here for Carol’s arrival,” Tony tells the kids. “A month of training isn’t enough. You’re not ready.”  
“That’s bullshit, Uncle Tony, we trained with our parents for ten years, who are you to tell us we’re not ready,” James replies angrily.  
“The very fact that you asked that question proves you’re still too immature. This isn’t a training session. This is war.”  
“I don’t care what you say; Mom and Dad may not have wanted this life for us. But now we’re knee deep in it. I’m going to be the next Captain America, and I’m going, whether you want me to or not.” James takes the shield and storms out of the cabin, with Talia chasing after him.  
“James, don’t do this. Don’t leave. We lost our parents, and you’re all I have left.”  
“Oh, stuff it, Talia. Stark is the reason our parents are dead. You idolize him and he couldn’t even keep the tower secure. You know, you really are like Dad, always seeing the good in people even when it isn’t there. If you’re not going to help me, I’ll take Modok down alone.” He walks away leaving his sister still begging him to come back. Becca comes to stand with her and talk.  
“You know he’ll be back. We’re family; he just needs time to cool off.”  
“I hope you’re right, Becks. I can’t do this without him. Dad must have felt the same way when Bucky fell from the train in World War II.”  
Carol would arrive sooner than expected and Tony would fill her in on the situation. She would be the one to convince him to bring the kids along, knowing they need all the help they can get.


	7. Legacy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James has just left the cabin and an old friend shows up who has been long thought dead.

James didn’t really get far from the cabin. He was angry at his sister, angry at Tony. He did get Natasha’s loner attitude after all. But he also knew he couldn’t just leave. From a very young age, his parents instilled in them that family is forever. Sitting by himself in the woods, a man who he’s never met would approach, eventually becoming the reason James goes back.  
“You know Steve, even after fifteen years, being in the woods alone doesn’t seem like something you would do,” a voice says from behind James.  
“Who’s there? Show yourself so I can meet my enemy face to face.”  
“I’m not your enemy. Even while I was away, I saw the reports on the tower. I knew you wouldn’t be killed that way.”  
“You seem to know an awful lot about my dad. I hate to inform you, but he did die in the tower,” James says turning around to face the man speaking.  
“I know you, should have known you weren’t your dad though, he had a more impressive stature as Captain America. Guess the mind sees what it wants to doesn’t it, James?”  
“How do you know my name? Who are you?”  
“I know all about you and your twin sister. You were named after me. My name is James Buchanan Barnes. Your dad used to call me Bucky.”  
“Bucky Barnes? Dad said you died, five years ago.”  
“I faked my death. Not a story you need to know. So you want to be the next Captain America. You’re not ready. You let your anger get the better of you; your father never let anger win.”  
“Anger is all I have. I never wanted this life. I just wanted to be an artist.”  
“This is war, son. War doesn’t care what you want. It’s hard, and it’s ugly. You have a legacy to live up to. Time to be a man.”  
“I already am a man. You have no right to insult me.” James attacks Bucky, but he doesn’t have the training to beat an older, far more experienced opponent. He is clumsy and thrown off balance, as Bucky blocks every attack without breaking a sweat.  
“That was a pathetic attack,” Bucky says. “If you’re serious about filling your father’s combat boots, I can help you.”  
“You were the Winter Soldier. You tried to kill my dad. Don’t want your help, don’t need it.”  
“Oh, you need my help, more than you know. As the Winter Soldier I infiltrated more secure compounds than you could possibly imagine exist. I’m an expert at avoiding being seen, I’ve often been referred to as a ghost. You’ll need skills like that if you want to live up to your father’s memory.”  
“Uncle Tony says…,”   
“Stark is a man in a can; not a soldier. He can’t help you like I can, so what’s it going to be?”  
As Bucky starts to walk away, James weighs his options. Some of what Bucky said makes sense to him. Reluctantly he starts to follow, because he feels he has no other choice. Back at the cabin Talia breaks the news to the rest of team.  
“Uncle Tony, James is gone. He left us.”  
“All right, team we’ve got a search mission. Modok will have to wait, we need to be at full strength,” Tony says. As he begins handing out assignments, Talia speaks up again.  
“No Uncle Tony. Going after him will just cause another fight. We have to let him come back on his own. It’s what Mom did once.”  
As Tony accepts this news, an old friend returns to join the fight.  
“It looks like I’ve been away too long. I see these kids that were babies have grown up while I was fighting in the second Kree war.”  
“Carol, welcome back. We’ve missed having you around,” Pepper says.  
“It’s good to be back, so what’s the situation,” she replies.  
“We don’t have a lot of time. We need to get suited up and to D.C., I’ll explain on the way,” Tony says.   
“Now that Carol is here, do you still plan to leave us behind, Tony,” Becca asks.  
“You’re still not ready. I can’t risk your lives in this war zone.”  
“Tony, whatever this situation is, we’re going to need all the help we can get. They’re the children of Avengers. You should bring them along.”  
“All right, suit up. Becca, Talia, I have something for the both of you. Jarvis, open up the coded foot locker.”  
“Right away, Sir.”  
Jarvis does as instructed, Talia and Becca see things they couldn’t have expected.


	8. Barton's Bow

With six hours to Modok’s deadline, the new team has gotten suited up and ready for battle. Inside the old footlocker were weapons, items Tony had saved from the battle of New York. In the years since that battle Clint had acquired a new bow with more advanced arrows and quiver. Tony had personally upgraded Natasha’s gear with a more powerful Widow’s bite. The equipment here may be old, but Tony always knew the value of having everything maintained properly.  
“Tony, was this my dad’s bow,” Becca asks. “These were my mom’s battle staves,” she says pulling out another set of weapons.  
“This was the bow he used in the Battle of New York. I saved it as a reminder of the first time we all worked together as Avengers. They would have wanted you to have them.”  
“These are my mom’s original Widow’s Bite weapons. I’ve seen these before,” Talia says. “They still look new.”  
“I keep everything in good shape. Never know when you’ll need an older set of weapons again,” Tony tells her. “Aunt Pepper taught me that when she saved the Iron Man mark 1 arc reactor.”  
“It gave you enough power to beat Obadiah, when he became the Iron Monger,” Pepper says, remembering that day.  
While the original Avengers and their new recruits are discussing strategy, Coulson and his team bring the jet back for the flight back to the city. With them is another old friend who insists on joining the battle.  
“Hey guys, do you have room for one more Avenger to fight this battle,” Sam asks.  
“Sam, when you retired your wings, we didn’t think you’d come back. Didn’t you say something about not wanting to risk your life anymore,” Tony asks.  
“Uh, no that was you Tony, after I got injured in a battle. I left because I needed to take care of some personal affairs with my family. The Falcon never retired. When I heard about the tower, I had to come back.”  
“I remember, it was a mistake I made that got you hurt. It’s why Steve was always the better leader. He wouldn’t have made that mistake.”  
“You have to stop kicking yourself for that Tony. I recovered and still helped you beat the bad guys.”  
“Hey, I don’t mean to interrupt, but we still have a deadline from Modok,” Phil says. “Five and a half hours or he launches the nukes. End of everything, remember?”  
“We haven’t forgotten, Phil. We’re ready to move,” Tony replies.  
As they all get on board the jet, it is the kids who are all remarkably calm, and the older Avengers are nervous. It’s been only a month since the tower fell. Now they are about to go back to war, and they all fear how this will end. Meanwhile Modok’s ally has returned to make sure that no Avengers survive the coming final battle.  
“The council is angry, Modok. You let four Avengers survive. Now they are coming to finish the war you started. If you fail again, all the Earth’s will be destroyed. It is known that the Avengers will cause a cataclysmic event in the near future. One of the children will be the root source of the event. If you fail, you won’t have to worry about Tony Stark dismantling you. You will have to worry about me doing it.”  
“Bold words, coming from a man I’ve never seen,” Modok says. “All you have are empty threats. You only gave me the codes to the tower security. It was I who planted the virus that destroyed the Avengers from within.”  
“Foolish pride, Modok. It will get you nowhere. Failure will bring about your end as well as mine.”  
“I welcome my own end, if it means I no longer have to listen to your useless prattling,” Modok replies. “And I will take the Avengers down with me.”  
“If you continue to question my power, I can make that happen for you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter contains references to The Avengers, and Iron Man, with the arc reactor and Obadiah Stane. Hope everyone is enjoying the story so far.


	9. Sacrifice

In less than an hour the jet arrived in D.C. As the Avengers disembarked, Coulson had May take the jet a safe distance away from where the fight would occur. Fitz, Skye and Simmons would work to hack through any program Modok could be using to control the nukes. Phil would take Triplett, and May to deal with any threats from A.I.M agents on the ground. Still believing this is all an elaborate bluff, Tony would be the first to confront Modok, hoping his new designs would withstand Modok’s technopathy.   
“All, right Modok, you wanted the Avengers, here we are,” Tony says.  
“I knew some of you survived, Stark. I would be impressed if you hadn’t been a thorn in my side for this long.”  
“You don’t have a side Modok, you’re just a head.”  
“Ah yes, the famous Tony Stark wit, half of it anyway. I’ve enjoyed our little game of chess, Stark, it’s a pity my ally wants me to end you now.”  
“We’re not going to be the ones to meet our end, you are. And we’ll take your ally down too.”  
“No matter, I made your vaunted tower fall, it’s your turn.”   
Modok starts attempting to use his technopathy on the armor worn by Tony. Unable to break through the new blocks Jarvis helped create, he has to try a different tactic.   
“I see you have found a way to block my powers. I can no longer access your armor.”  
“Adapt or perish Modok. I learned from the last time you took my armor away. You don’t really think you can win, do you?”  
“I have the world’s nuclear arsenal at my command, it’s only a matter of time before I launch and destroy the world.”  
“Yeah, you’re bluffing. Not even you can access the…,” Jarvis interrupts Tony before he finishes his statement.  
“Sir, Modok just launched three nuclear weapons, destination-France. At Mach 4 it would still take you an hour to fly the distance to stop the impact.”  
“Coulson, can your team disable the nukes headed to France before impact,” Tony asks in a panic.  
“Please, tell me how I’m bluffing again, Stark. You overconfidence is your weakness,” Modok says.  
“No, Stark, Modok has the weapons to well shielded,” Phil replies. “We can’t stop them.” As Tony prepares to fly off to stop the detonation, Jarvis stops him.  
“Sir, I’ve been tracking the warheads, they just self-destructed on their own.”  
“Jarvis told you of the self-destruct system being activated, didn’t he? I did that. I hope you now know I’m serious, Stark. You and your team should surrender.”  
“Surrender isn’t in my vocabulary. Avengers Attack!”  
As the battle commences, The Avengers begin to realize that Modok has outfitted his agents with new weapons. For most of the fight, the armor Tony designed and the upgrades prevent serious damage, and the fight is going their way. Sif, and the Warriors Three are impressed with the fighting skills the children are showing with such a short time in training. As A.I.M agents fall, Skye calls Tony with some good news.  
“Hey, Stark, I found a way to block Modork’s control of the nukes,” she says. “He has no access to them now.”  
“Great job, Skye, keep him from regaining control. We’ve almost wrapped things up here.” As Tony is speaking, Modok finds a way to break through the blocks in the armor, disabling his link to Jarvis. This enables agents to fire an armor piercing shell.  
“You’ve wrapped up nothing Stark. I may not be able to take control of your armor, but I still have one hand left to play.”  
Modok begins opening teleportation portals, sending his remaining soldiers back to base, while also separating the Avengers to different parts of the universe.  
“Even now, as I send members of your team away, villains from across the world are preparing to cause destruction. The world will fall, as will your friends,” Modok taunts him.   
Dividing the Avengers, Modok sends the Hulk to Harlem back into a fight with Abomination. War Machine is sent back to Golmira and attacked by the Ten Rings. Carol is sent back to deep space, into a fight between the Super Skrull and Thanos. As a last act, Modok sends Thor, Sif, and The Warriors Three back to Asgard. All that remain now are Tony, Pepper, Becca, Talia, and Sam. On the ground, Tony’s armor has been severely damaged leaving him at 20% power and with depleted weapons.   
“Your armor is destroyed, your weapons non-functional, now you die Stark,” Modok says. As he prepares to use his technopathy to rip the rest of Tony’s armor apart, Pepper flies down pushing him out of the way, taking the full force of the blast. Her armor explodes, a piece of metal lodging itself in her heart. When she hits the ground, Tony rushes to her side.  
“Pepper, why,” he asks as tears start to well up.  
“I had to, Tony. You’re the only one who can defeat him. I couldn’t let you die,” she places a hand on his cheek, “You’re too important, I love you.”  
Before Tony can use the last of his power to fire at Modok, the villain transports himself away, with one last threat.  
“This is not over Stark! I will return, and have my victory!”  
The Avengers are scattered, they’ve all lost someone they love in this fight. Becca and Talia, lost their parents, Tony has lost his friends, and his wife. Beaten, but not broken, the remaining members of the team return to Phil’s jet for the flight back to the cabin. No one says a word for the duration of the trip. Watching the team leave, Modok’s ally now knows the cross-time council was wrong. It will not be the Avengers who cause the cataclysm, it will be Modok himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was hard enough to write the first chapter and my hands were shaking the whole time I did. It was also hard to write Pepper sacrificing herself for Tony. However in the coming chapters, her sacrifice will help him become the leader Steve always knew he could be.


	10. The Soldier and the legacy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky trains James to fight. He wants to help him live up to the name of Captain America. James feels he has nothing live for, until Bucky helps him to see otherwise. Meanwhile, Tony feels lost and is angry at the failure to stop Modok.

James is unaware of the events in D.C. Having followed Bucky to an old army base, he is undergoing the training needed to be ready for the fight ahead.  
“You want to be Captain America, you have to earn it,” Bucky says. Fear is a weakness. Control your emotions. In the forties all your father ever wanted to be was a soldier. He never walked away from a fight. Even when the opponent was bigger and stronger than him.”  
“So he had guts. I’ve got guts,” James replies.  
“Guts aren’t enough, kid. You have to be willing to do the right thing, all the time. Even if it means you could die. That’s what made your dad Captain America.”  
“I’m not afraid to die. I have nothing left to live for.”  
“Wrong attitude son, you go into battle thinking like that, and you will die. You always have something to live for, to fight for. What drives you?”  
James thinks for a moment, and answers: “Revenge.”  
“Revenge. Let me tell you something about revenge. It doesn’t bring redemption.”  
“Is this all we’re going to do, talk? You said you would teach me to fight Bucky. To be worthy of the legacy of Captain America. I’m beginning to think you don’t know anything about his legacy.”  
“If that’s what you want, no more talking. Attack me.” Bucky turns his back to James.  
“You turned your back on me. It’s not a fair fight.”  
“Strength isn’t everything. Again, attack me.”  
James moves in to attack Bucky, and he has learned some from his teacher. This next lesson would be the most important. As he moves, he prepares to throw a punch, which is caught, reversed and Bucky puts James down on his back.  
“Overconfidence is a weakness. I used yours against you. To win, you have to manipulate your opponent into thinking he has the edge. First rule of combat, when your opponent believes he has an edge, you have all the control. You can force mistakes, find openings that no one else would be able to see. Remember that.”  
James commits this to memory. As he attacks again, Bucky still has the upper hand in every attempt. But like his father, James has a gifted mind. He’s not a genius like Tony, and he remembers what works in the fight and what doesn’t. As he learns, he spots a weakness, and presses the advantage. James finally gets a hit in.  
“You scored a hit. Don’t get cocky. Improvisation is good. It shows that you can adapt to changing situations and circumstances. Attack me again.”  
As Bucky continues training his namesake the Avengers have arrived back at the cabin. They have already had to sacrifice much in the war, and Modok has escaped again. As they depart the plane, everyone wants to know their next course of action. Tony is in a daze, he has never felt this lost before.  
“Uncle Tony, what’s next,” Talia asks.  
“There is nothing next. It’s over. We’re scattered and defeated. I wish your father was here, he always knew the next move,” Tony replies.  
“Come on, Uncle Tony. Dad left you in charge because he trusted you. It’s the same reason he named you co-leader all those years ago. Snap out of it. We need you!”  
“Don’t you get it? We’ve lost everything. The tower, our family, what is there left to fight for?” Tony walks into his office and slams the door.  
“Sam, what should we do, how can we continue this fight without him,” Becca asks.  
“You two stay here, I dealt with this when I got injured. I’ll handle it.” As Sam enters the office he stops to listen as Tony is speaking with Jarvis.  
“Sir, you can’t give up. Ms. Potts would not want you too. You sacrificed your life to fly the nuclear warhead into the portal above New York. You went without any armor to save her from Killian. If I may,…” Tony interrupts his A.I.  
“Shut up Jarvis. Pepper’s dead, she was more of a hero than I could ever be. Rhodey and the rest of team are gone. All that’s left are two kids, me and Sam. What hope do we have.” Unable to keep quiet for any longer, Sam finally loses his cool.  
“Wake up Tony. There is always hope while someone lives to fight on. Did you learn nothing from Steve? You sit here moping, while there’s still a battle to fight. We’re Avengers, they can beat us, they can separate us, but they can never break us. You lead this team now, any of us who remain need you, all of you. To give up would be to dishonor the memory of everyone who has fought and died in this war. Steve, Nat, Clint, Bobbi, and Pepper. You’re Tony Stark, genius, billionaire, playboy, and philanthropist. There isn’t an enemy alive who can out think you when it comes to technology. Get it together, man.”  
“Sam, I…I can’t. I can’t do this without Pepper.”  
“Sir, if I may, I have a recording from Miss Potts I think you would like to hear.”  
“Tony, things may seem at their darkest now. We’ve been through so much together. I want you to know that even if this battle takes my life, I love you. You’ll always be my hero. I need you to do what you do best. Save the world.”  
“Playback complete. Her last thoughts were of you. If you wish to honor her memory, you must fight.”  
Whatever Tony was feeling, with that message, he realizes what he has to do.  
“Thanks, J. Thanks Sam. We fight, and Modok goes down.”  
With Sam following him, Tony returns from his office. Becca and Talia look to them both expectantly. Tony would be the one to break the silence.  
“Avengers, Let’s Move.”


	11. Training complete

Bucky was amazed at how fast James was able to learn. Two weeks after they left the cabin together, he had become a fighter as good as his father was. He had been able to beat Bucky nine times out of ten. He even learned to make the shield ricochet and fly back faster and with greater accuracy than Bucky thought possible.   
“You’re done with your training kid. Steve would be proud of you. I can’t teach you anything more than I have. It’s time for you to rejoin the Avengers,” Bucky says.  
“Wait, what about stealth, being able to infiltrate compounds without being seen?”  
“Those are important, but you’re going into all-out war. You’ll need to strike fast and move quickly. This isn’t about shadow games.”  
“I can’t thank you enough for your help, Bucky. I’m sure Dad would be grateful that you did this to honor his memory.”  
“It was my pleasure to help my best friend’s son. Go on kid, you better get back to the cabin. I’ve programmed the coordinates into the nav computer on my jump jet. It’ll get you there.”  
“Wait, aren’t you going to come with me,” James asks.  
“I don’t have a place there. I’ve done what I need to do. You’re ready.”  
James looks disappointed as over this time he feels as if Bucky has become his friend.  
“Hey, don’t be dejected. I was always there watching your Dad’s back. I may not be able to be on the front lines, but I’ll be there in the shadows, if you ever need me. I’m with you to…” he pauses.  
“The end of the line,” James finishes.  
“Good luck, Captain America.”  
James silently thanks Bucky again as he enters the jump jet. Ready to return to the cabin and the team, he knows he’s ready for the fight, but now not sure if he wants to use his father’s code name. A decision will be made when the time is right. He really just hopes his sister can forgive him for leaving the way he did.


	12. Return

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony has gotten his act back together and is talking with Carol when James returns. He wouldn't be prepared for his sister's anger when he did come back.

In the two weeks since the battle of D.C., the Avengers who were transported away slowly begin to make their return. Rhodey spent some time in an army medical facility because of injuries he sustained against the Ten Rings. Bruce beat Blonsky again, and finally was able to overcome the Hulk’s anger transformations and learned to transform at will based on the threat level. Carol was victorious against the Super-Skrull and Thanos, in a fight that pushed all of them to their limits. Thor would return, but felt it was better for his Queen and The Warriors Three to remain to defend Asgard. Reunited the Avengers know there is no time to celebrate, they still have a battle to fight. The problem they find is that Modok has been silent since D.C., this is unusual and they worry what it means.  
“Modok’s planning something. His silence can’t be good,” Carol says.  
“Whatever he’s planning we’ll stop it. We owe that to our fallen team-mates,” Tony says.  
Carol is surprised at how calm he is. Shortly after she returned from deep space Talia told her of Pepper’s death and his meltdown. She shows concern for him.  
“Tony, are you sure you’re going to be all right. I know how much Pepper meant to you. If Modok hadn’t transported me…” Tony interrupts her.  
“Carol, I know you would have done everything you could to save her. She sacrificed herself to save me. I’m thankful for your concern, but I will not let her death be in vain.”  
As they continue talking they hear a jump jet land outside. Jarvis gives them the all clear alerting them that James has returned. As he enters the underground facility and the jump jet returns to its owner, only Tony comes to greet him.  
“Well, well, the prodigal son has returned. Where have you been for the past two weeks when we needed you?”  
“I’m sorry Uncle Tony; I shouldn’t have started that argument. It was childish, and stupid. You were right, I wasn’t ready for this,” James admits.  
“You weren’t ready for a lot of things, kid. If you’d just listened to me, things might be a lot better right now.” Tony is starting to get angry again, but knows it just might set James off, so he tries to calm himself back down. “Look, you left, obviously you had a choice to make, something to work on. I know it’s not easy to lose your parents at your age. Just before you do this again, make sure you’re not hurting anyone when you make another stupid decision.”  
“I will, Uncle Tony. Where’s Talia? I need to…” Tony interjects to hopefully protect him.  
“You might want to avoid her for the time being. She only expected you to be gone for a couple of hours, not two weeks. She’s been angry since you went walkabout.”  
“I know, the last time I left like this, it hurt her, and Mom and Dad only grounded me for two weeks, since I couldn’t leave the tower alone at that point, but they were pissed at me too. I should try to apologize.”  
He wouldn’t get the chance as Talia came in to confront him for his actions.  
“About time you got back you selfish little brat,” she says. For two weeks I’ve been scared to death that something happened to you. I was afraid you were dead, or being tortured. I needed you here. You’re my last living blood relative. Where the hell were you anyway?”  
“It’s interesting that you went with dead first, as opposed to being tortured,” James tries to make light of the situation, but fails. Tony just stares at him in disbelief that he would make a joke like that.  
“Shut up, James. Stupid jokes aren’t going to help right now,” Talia replies. “What’s going on is not just about you. Aunt Pepper is dead, and you just waltz back in here like nothing happened? Are you out of your freaking mind? Where were you?”  
Knowing he can’t win this argument, James does his best to make amends, and apologize.  
“Uncle Tony, I’m sorry about Aunt Pepper. Talia, I’m sorry I left you high and dry without a word. When I was sitting alone in the woods, thinking about everything, one of Dad’s old friends found me. He took me for training to help me be the hero Dad was.”  
“One of Dad’s old friends, I call that B.S., big brother. You know better than I do that outside of the Avengers all of Dad’s old friends are dead.”  
“Not all of them,” James replies. “I was training with Bucky.”  
“Yeah, right, Dad told us himself, Bucky Barnes died five years ago. I’ll believe he’s alive when he walks in that front door himself.”  
“That’s what I said too, he faked his death, for reasons he doesn’t want anyone to know.”  
“You know what; I don’t care where you were. Lie about it all you want. But you better not chicken out right before the next battle.”  
“Talia, I’m not lying, I was training with…” His sister interrupts him again.  
“Stuff it James, trust is a two way street.” She walks away returning to the upper floor of the cabin.


	13. Cross Time Council

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Modok's ally is meeting with the council. He finally reveals his identity.

Knowing he has little time, Modok’s ally has returned to try and convince the council of their mistake. Everything they believe about the Avengers was wrong. He also knows that it was the Council who wanted him to involve Modok. Not waiting to be permitted to enter, he barges in of his own accord.  
“You will wait for permission to enter these chambers. We are not ready for you to speak,” The prime councilman says.  
“Time grows short; the destruction of our timeline is imminent. The Avengers prophecy was wrong,” he replies.  
“I disagree, we have seen the prophecy, and all signs lead to the child of an Avenger causing the cataclysm.”  
“Then you are blind. It was your choice to involve Modok. Even now he begins to amass enough power to recreate everything. If he succeeds you all will fall. If you will not stop this, then I will, and I’ll do it alone.”  
“Be wary, if you choose to help the Avengers, and betray the Council, we will…”  
“Your threats are empty. I formed this Council. Without me, none of you would be here. I am Kang, The Conqueror. While it pains me to assist the Avengers, they are the only hope for survival.”  
The prime councilman tries to stop Kang: “Stop, you cannot do this…” But Kang doesn’t hear him. He has already transported himself to the coordinates of his own kingdom. Upon arrival Kang finds that his world has already been altered, and in place of what was his palace stands another structure designed to look like Modok.  
“I was outside the time stream, so I was protected from the changes. I remember it all. Now I have no choice, The Avengers are my only hope.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone liked the big reveal. Took thirteen chapters for Kang to finally reveal himself. If anybody guessed it was him, great job. He's not done yet, get ready for what he plans to do in the remaining chapters.


	14. Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kang confronts Modok, face to giant head.

Despite the warnings of the council, after seeing Modok’s handiwork, Kang knew he had to stop his ally from his plans. Traveling back in time, he decides to confront Modok alone. Regardless of what he told the council, his pride will not allow him to reveal himself to the Avengers, let alone ask for their help. It is a mistake that will cost him.  
“Greetings, Modok. I have returned to assess how our plans to defeat the Avengers proceed.”  
“Our plans, they are not our plans, it is my plan,” Modok says. “You stand in the shadows and pretend to direct, and assist. I did the work. The Avengers are broken. They are scattered. No one stands to stop me from total domination.”  
“I told you your pride would be your downfall. The Avengers can never be broken. They fight against all the odds and survive. Your attempts to separate them were all for naught. Even now, they continue to chase you.”  
“They are leaderless. I killed Tony Stark’s reason to fight. He is broken without his precious wife. All that is left is for them to die.”   
Leaving the shadows, Kang confronts Modok for the first time.   
“You failed again. I told you that you would. The Avengers stand reunited. I watched as Pepper Potts-Stark sacrificed herself for her husband. This sacrifice has made him stronger than ever.”  
“So my ally does have the gall to face me. I have only one question. Who are you?”  
“I am Kang, the Conqueror. You need not worry about the Avengers. I will be your downfall.”  
Kang knows everything about Modok and his abilities. In his timeline he adapted Stark Tech to be impervious to technopathy. While Modok would not be able to attack him directly this way, he had a back-up plan prepared as he knew one day his ally would meet him face to face.  
“Kang, interesting name, it sounds Chinese. It matters not where you are from. Your defeat will be as inevitable as the one planned for the Avengers.”  
“Your technopathy will not work on me, head. I have studied Stark Tech. I have made countless upgrades to defend myself against your abilities.”  
“If you are from the future as you claim, you would know that I don’t need to fight you. My Agents will battle for me. You are one man, I have many agents.”  
The battle begins and Kang holds his own. Drawing multiple weapons from portals in the space time continuum, he fights and kills many of Modok’s lackeys. They would eventually prove to be too much for him as he became overwhelmed. Modok found a way to turn Kang’s overconfidence against him. Every time a portal would be opened, he would close it before Kang could draw a new weapon and regroup. He would ultimately have to surrender as using this much temporal energy drained his strength.  
“You are done, Kang. My agents have overwhelmed you. Your opening of the time portals has drained your energy.” Kang is shocked at what Modok just said. “You look surprised. I knew exactly what you were doing. Your defeat was assured when you appeared before me. Revealing yourself gave me the upper hand. Agents, take him away.”  
As Kang is taken to Modok’s dungeon he is still swearing vengeance.   
“I will escape, Modok! You will not destroy my timeline. I warned the Council that you were the cause of our undoing! You will fall before me! “  
“Rant all you want, conqueror, no one will hear you,” Modok says. “Lackey, commence Project Inferno.”  
“It will be done Modok.”  
Despite what Tony and Skye thought, Modok never relinquished control of the warheads. They were also not nuclear. He had developed a weapon far more dangerous.


	15. World destroyed

As Tony and Jarvis continue to try and track Modok, the team is in a defensive holding pattern. They continue to train for what they hope will be the final battle. Talia and Becca have been working together and can predict the other’s moves. They have become as formidable a team as Clint and Natasha. James has been left on the outside with his sister still angry. So he would train with Sam, learning to block aerial attacks and defend against projectiles, using his father’s shield. Bucky taught him to attack with it, Sam taught him to defend.   
“Remember, James, that shield needs to be like an extension of your arm. It can be used for offense, but no offense is good enough without a strong defense.”  
“Good advice, Sam. Try to hit me again.”   
Sam starts firing the wing blades again, but not one gets past James’s defense. He has learned everything he needs to be the Soldier his father was. As the training sessions wind down, a news report would confirm that Modok was ready to finish what he started.  
“This just in, the villain Modok has begun his assault on the world. The rumors of Project Inferno were correct. He has launched his weapons into every known active volcano, and at every fault line from California to Japan. Tsunamis have wiped out the islands of Hawaii, and earthquakes all across America have destroyed bridges, and buildings. The death toll is already in the billions, and will only rise as more reports come in. We have just received an audio message from Modok:”  
“People of the world, I have unleashed Project Inferno. Nations are falling, billions have died, and more will follow. Your leaders, your heroes, are all finished. The World is mine.”  
“We now have confirmed reports that the Baxter Building, home of the Fantastic Four has fallen. The X-Men are still unaccounted for, and the Avengers have not been seen since the last battle of Washington D.C. We can only hope that out there somewhere they still…”  
The report is cut off because an earthquake shook the building disconnecting the feed.   
“All right, team, Modok has played his hand,” Tony says. “It’s time we play ours. When we get out there, I can only imagine the devastation will be intense. Our job is to avenge every fallen soul.”  
“You still don’t know where Modok is, and where have the X-Men been. They have to know that this happened,” Bruce says.  
“The X-Men have been fighting in the Shi’Ar war. They are in deep space in a battle for Empress Lilandra. They are too far away to help,” Tony replies.  
“How do you know all this, Tony? Where did you get your intel,” Sam asks him.  
“Xavier contacted me. He regrets that they are so far away. I was angry that they were not here. But he trusts us to finish this and save what’s left.”  
“Regrets don’t win wars, soldiers do,” James says with an authority that belies his fifteen years.  
“That’s right, and we’re all soldiers now. For our family, we win this war,” Talia says agreeing with her brother for the first time since he came back.  
“Sir, I have been able to pinpoint Modok’s present location,” Jarvis says.  
“Great, J, how did you find him,” Tony asks.  
“He sent us his coordinates. He wants you to come and face him directly.”  
“Well, then I don’t intend to disappoint him. Where?”  
“The ruins of the tower, Sir. He says he wants to destroy you all where he started this.”  
“Talk about adding insult to injury,” Carol says.  
“This has just gone way beyond personal. This is an affront to the memories of our fallen Avengers. Call it Thor,” Tony says to the King of Asgard.  
“Avengers, Assemble!”  
Returning to New York was not what the team expected. Leaving with Coulson’s jet and his team providing a safe haven at the cabin for when they return, Tony and the Avengers go to fight and finish what Modok started. What they see in place of the tower when they arrive will anger them, but unite them far better than when they joined together the very first time.


	16. Stronghold

The jet lands in what remains of New York City. Devastation is everywhere. On top of the ground where the tower stood, Modok has built his stronghold. Tony recognizes pieces of his building in the new structure. He can only hope that he can access Jarvis’ systems somewhere still inside. It may be able to give them an edge and turn whatever weaponry Modok has installed against him.  
“Welcome Avengers, how do you like my tower,” Modok asks.  
“It’s a cheap knock off, Modok. You’ve never been able to do anything better than me. I look forward to bringing your tower down like you brought down mine,” Tony says.  
“That won’t happen Stark; and I doubt your armor is fully powered enough to fight me again. I’ve taken all your systems and corrupted them for my purposes. This time, you all will die.”  
“We’re not the ones who are going to die. And you’re going to jail. All right Avengers, just like we planned, Attack!”  
Modok is taken by surprise. He expected Stark to be the one to attack first. He planned for that, and Carol was chosen to be the one to fight Modok. He has no defense against her powers. Quickly A.I.M agents begin leaving the building to help their master fight. Engaging in battle, The Hulk, War Machine, Falcon, and Thor all respond in kind. They all know they have to keep Modok and his agents focused on them, as Tony, Talia, Becca, and James use the distraction to enter the tower.   
“All right, Uncle Tony, we’re in. What’s next,” Talia asks.   
“You three are my defense. I need time to hack Modok’s systems. Maybe I can find Jarvis in here. If I can gain access, I can bring this tower down.”  
“Then get to it, we’ve got you protected,” James says.  
Modok’s defense systems don’t take long to discover the intruders. As before, weapons emerge from the walls. Deflecting enemy fire and returning with their own, the defense systems are being taken out. Becca is using her father’s old explosive arrows, while Talia uses a combination of the Widow’s bite and flash grenades. James uses the shield to block and defend as they move through the levels towards the control room.  
“Come on Jarvis, tell me you’ve got a lock on the control room in this tower, It’s the only way we can stop Modok.”  
“Sir, I’m still working on pinpointing the exact location. I need a moment.”  
“We don’t have a moment, Jarvis. We need that location now!”  
“I have it sir. I found one of my old interface terminals. Modok has placed his control room in the dungeon he built.”  
“Which way?”  
“Through the stairwell, and down three levels, then two lefts will take you there.”  
“Got it team, we need to move, we go down,” Tony tells them.  
As they move down into the lower levels, they encounter little resistance, a few agents pop up every so often, but can’t stop the young heroes as they work together just like their parents used to. Tony continues to lead the way, and at the last level they make the left turn down the hallway, running towards the next turn. Finding no more resistance they realize Modok didn’t expect anyone to get this far. As they find the control room, they come across empty prison cells until they pass the last one.  
“Avengers, help me,” someone says from the darkness.  
“Wait a minute, someone’s back there,” James says.  
“If he’s Modok’s prisoner, he obviously did something that he deserves to be locked up for. We’re not on a rescue mission, kid. Leave him there.”  
“We can’t leave him, Uncle Tony. Mom and Dad gave their lives to save us when your tower collapsed, we can’t let the same fate happen to him.”  
“Not going to argue, you’ve got two minutes, then Jarvis and I bring this place down.”  
James separates from Tony, Becca, and Talia. As they enter the control room, Jarvis attempts to locate any of his remaining programming in the systems. Becca and Talia flank Tony, while he hacks the main computer.  
“Jarvis, tell me you have something. Can you interface with the system,” Tony asks.  
“I’m working on it, Sir. I have encountered some files from my original system. I’m working to restore access now.”  
“Do it fast, J. I think I’ve found the self-destruct codes.” As Jarvis and Tony work feverishly to hack in, James is back at the dungeon.  
“Hey kid, get me out of here.”  
“I’m looking for a key. Shut up for a minute and let me think,” James says.  
“You don’t need a key. I recognize that shield on your back. You can use it to break the lock open.” James pauses a moment when the prisoner mentions the shield.  
“Who are you, how do you know this shield?”  
“This is not the time for introductions, just break the lock. If you get me out of here, I can help you defeat Modok.”  
“He has you locked up, and our team has him occupied. What can you do?”  
“I can only explain if you get me out. Modok took away all my equipment. I need it to stop him.”  
James doesn’t want to trust this person, but he knows his Dad would have freed him, if there was a chance he could help.  
“All right, stand back.” James hits the lock with his shield and it breaks, releasing the prisoner.  
“I broke you out; now tell me what you can do.”  
“Not now, we have to…” the prisoner stops his thoughts as running back towards the dungeon are Tony, Talia, and Becca.   
“Jarvis couldn’t restore all his programming, but the self-destruct system has been activated. We have ten minutes to get out of here,” Tony yells as they reunite. “Who is this?”  
“Modok’s prisoner, he says he can help,” James replies.  
“Whatever, let’s go.”   
The prisoner speaks up.  
“Wait a minute, I just found my teleportation device. I can get us out of here quicker, if you’ll let me help, Stark.”  
“How do you know my…, never mind, get us out of here. You can explain yourself when we’re safe.”  
As their new companion activates the teleporter, they all gather together so no one gets left behind. Instantly they are transported out of the building back to where the fight began. A.I.M. agents are down, and Modok is still in battle with Carol. With one last blast, he goes down, and Thor would use Mjolnir to bury him in rubble. Tony walks over to him and speaks.  
“You’re beaten Modok. I’ve activated the self-destruct in your tower.”  
“You’ve won nothing today Stark. I still have the edge.” He stops talking for a moment and concentrates on his systems inside the tower. “I have just deactivated the self-destruct mechanism. You always forget about my technopathy. This is far from over.” The Avengers new companion speaks next.  
“I warned you Modok, and yet you refused to give up. I told you the Avengers would come for you. You tried to imprison me, but you failed there as well.”  
“Kang, you are a fool, I have conquered the Earth. When you transport yourself back to your own timeline, you will have nothing. I rule all!”  
Tired of hearing Modok speak, Thor strikes him with a small blast of lightning from Mjolnir, knocking him unconscious. As James and Talia begin to question their new companion, one A.I.M agent has recovered his weapon and fires it at Talia and Kang. Pushing them both out of the way, James takes the bullet himself. After he goes down, Tony and Rhodey pick him up and carry him to the jet, so they can finally return home, with Modok in custody.


	17. Second Sacrifice

Talia would not leave her brother’s side. The entire flight home, she stayed with him hoping the shot wasn’t fatal, praying that he would regain consciousness. She was so angry at him for abandoning her when she needed him the most and she still had yet to apologize. He would wake slowly and see her with him.  
“Talia, you stayed with me. I’m…,” James pauses.  
“James, don’t speak, save your strength. We’re on our way home.”  
“No, important, I’m sorry for leaving you. I shouldn’t have…”  
“I’m sorry for the things I said when you came back. I was hurt and angry,” Talia replies.  
“Had every right to be, I…” James is starting to grow weaker and Bruce comes to the medical center to check on him. Talia looks up with questioning eyes.  
“Uncle Bruce, is my brother going to make it?”  
Bruce doesn’t know how to respond, he has already seen so much death as an Avenger. He wants to reassure the young woman sitting at her brother’s bedside. She has already lost her parents, and he doesn’t know how she will react to another tragedy.  
“Uncle Bruce, will James be okay,” she asks again.  
“Talia, I’m sorry, I wish I could tell you he’ll be fine. I…” Bruce can’t even finish what he wants to say, he is hurting just as much as she is. Talia doesn’t need an answer, the silence says more, and tears start to fall.  
“Talia, don’t cry. I knew this might…, saved you, did it for Mom and Dad. Be strong, you have to be the one…” with his last ounce of strength he takes his twin sister’s hand. “Keep fighting.”  
She stays there with her brother for the rest of the flight home, still holding his hand. Bruce silently leaves her to grieve, and goes to break the news to the rest of the Avengers. Meanwhile Modok is still unconscious and Tony is questioning Kang.  
“All right, so we freed you from Modok. Spill it, who are you and how do you know so much about us,” Tony asks.  
“I cannot tell you here. When we land, I will show you all you need to know.”  
“I’m not buying that. You were locked up. I could have had my team leave you there.”  
“Why are you treating me like I’m an enemy? I said if you freed me I would be able to help you.”  
“Yeah, and you’ve done nothing so far, but speak in riddles. It’s taking every ounce of self-control I have not to throw you off this plane, 30,000 feet down.”  
Carol comes to the back of the plane to let Tony know what happened in the med center.  
“Hey, Tony, you got a minute? I know you’re questioning the prisoner, but Bruce…” she has to pause to try and compose herself.  
“Bruce what,” he asks. Noting a look of sorrow in Carol’s eyes he understands something has happened to one of the team. “Let’s step outside.”  
As they do, Carol breaks the news to him; it would shake him to his very core.  
“Tony, James just…, he succumbed to the wound. He’s gone Tony.”  
“He can’t have died. We’ve lost too many already. He risked his life to save this piece of trash who won’t answer any questions. I’ll beat the answers out of him if I have to. Then I’ll rip Modok apart!” Tony is furious, and Carol realizes she’s never seen him this way before, but she tries to calm him down.  
“Tony, listen. Listen to me. Anger and violence won’t solve anything. You can’t bring our friends back by doing something you’ll regret. We all want to honor their memories. But you’ve got to get it together. Becca and Talia can’t see you like this. They’re hurting enough.”  
Carol has spoken calmly the entire time, and her words help Tony calm down. He’s just tired of losing everyone he cares about to this war. Rhodey would break more bad news, just after Tony got his composure.  
“Hey guys, I hate to tell you this, but Modok just teleported. He’s gone again.”  
“Then we’ll find him,” Tony says. “And we’ll make him pay for all of this. Jarvis, start tracking any possible destination Modok could have gone. He’s gone too far with our team this time.”  
“I am already working on that, Sir. I will find him. He will be brought to justice, in honor of all the Avengers who have fallen at his hands.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise this was the final loss the Avengers experience in this story. Like his parents James became a hero by sacrificing himself for his sister. All of the sacrifices made by the Avengers were extremely difficult for me to write. Bear with me until the end and things will be better. Thanks for reading.


	18. The Mourning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Talia has lost everything to Modok. She decides to keep fighting.

Every Avenger has lost something in this war, but Talia Alaina Rogers has lost everything. Her home, her parents, and her brother, this is more than anyone should have to face in their youth. There is not one member of the team that would begrudge her wanting to leave, to stop fighting. Tony expects her to give no more than she already has. When the plane arrives back at the cabin, she would surprise them all with a strength that reminds them all of Natasha.  
“How are you, Talia,” Carol asks.  
“I’m fine Carol. I’m still here and I want to help end this war,” she replies.  
“Look, kid, none of us would blame you if you wanted to leave,” Tony says. “If you feel the need to stop…” Tony pauses.  
“Uncle Tony, I appreciate all the concern you all have for me. The fact is, Avengers don’t quit, and we don’t give up, not with the world watching. Modok has taken everything from me, that’s true. But what matters is having the courage to keep fighting, to go on, and that’s what I’m going to do.”  
As Talia leaves to get some rest before the next battle, Phil has been listening in to the whole conversation.  
“That kid got the best of both her parents. They’d be proud of her,” he says.  
“That they would, Coulson. She is the hope we all needed to have. This is why we’re going to win this war,” Tony says. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have something to attend to.”  
“Where are you going,” Carol asks him.  
“To get the answers we need from our mystery guest. I get the feeling he is more involved in all of this than he is willing to admit.”  
“I could send May in there with you, she has an uncanny knack for getting answers out of anyone,” Phil offers.  
“No, Phil. This one is mine.”


	19. Kang

Kang went from one cell to another. He offered his help to the Avengers but they have no reason to trust him. He really doesn’t expect that they will once he reveals his own part in the crisis they face. So he waits for the inevitable questioning that is about to come. He wouldn’t be kept waiting long.  
“Okay, so you said you could help us. Time to fess up, what exactly do you know about all this, and us;” Tony asks.  
“Perhaps I should start at the beginning. My name is Kang. I come from the future. A future that follows your timeline, it was peaceful, and I was the Supreme Ruler. To help manage the myriad timelines and all possible futures I convened the Council of Cross-Time Kangs.”  
“Kang, wasn’t that a Chinese Dynasty,” Tony asks.   
Not finding humor in this joke, Kang continues.  
“The Council was to observe. When The Avengers first joined together, they began to fear. Not long after, a prophecy would arise that the child of an Avenger would be the cause of the destruction of all that exists. To that end, the Council had me seek out Modok. Our technology is based from yours Stark. It was the Council who would task me with delivering the security codes to Avengers Tower, and this enabled Modok to plant the virus that would bring your tower down.”  
“YOU! You were responsible for all this death? You helped our enemy destroy my home, and leave three children as orphans? I should kill you for this.”  
“You probably should, I regret my part in this. But the Council was mistaken. The prophecy was a lie. Modok would be the one responsible for all the destruction of the future. If you kill me, I will not be able to correct my mistake.”  
“Give me one good reason why I should believe you,” Tony says.  
“I can give you two reasons.” Kang activates the video recording of his original timeline. “This was my home, Chronopolis. This was how it existed before Modok unleashed Project Inferno.” He activates a second video. “This is the after. When I tried to convince the Council of the truth, they didn’t believe me. Leaving me no option, I traveled back to my home, and I found this in its place. Recognize the tower?”  
“That was the tower I just tried to destroy.”  
“Yes, and had you been successful, my timeline might have been restored. Modok knew what you were planning, and he will try again. Now the only way to restore my world is in the past, by stopping Modok from planting the virus to begin with.”  
“You can’t change the past. What happened was meant to happen. Sorry, but I don’t believe you. We’ll take down Modok and we’ll fix the world, it’s what we do.”  
As Tony walks away, Kang is still professing he can fix the future, he needs to fix his mistake. Meeting with the other Avengers, Tony relates Kang’s story.  
“So he says he can fix this. Can we believe him,” Bruce asks.  
“He sounds like a madman, you can smell crazy on him,” Rhodey says.  
“Let’s think about this rationally for a minute,” Carol interrupts. “We’ve all seen events that defy logic. We’ve fought aliens, monsters, is it really so hard to believe that time travel might be possible?”  
“It’s possible, but what I can’t forget is that he helped Modok tear us apart. Trusting him would be a liability,” Tony says.  
“So what about Modok, Jarvis still hasn’t found him. We can’t end this war until we do,” Sam says.  
“You need not worry about Modok, he will reveal himself, and he wants to be the one to finally kill the Avengers. His arrogance will not allow him to hide forever,” Jarvis reminds them.  
“Jarvis is right, Modok may be a giant brain, but he’s stupid,” Tony confirms. “Almost as stupid as Loki was.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kang has finally revealed his identity to the Avengers. When Tony asks "Kang, wasn't that a Chinese dynasty, it is a line referenced from a limited series called Avengers: The Terminatrix Objective. Tony, Cap and Thor are transported to a town in the early 20th century. There they meet Mayor Victor Timely. He is a representation of Kang. When one of the Avengers mentions the name, Timely asks the question I had Tony ask in this chapter.


	20. Empty Search

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Kang's part in the devastation revealed, Talia would decide to meet with Kang herself.

Carol would fill Becca and Talia in on everything Kang had said. They were a little angry that he caused all this. But they’ve learned a lot recently, and they don’t let their anger consume them. Weeks pass and Modok doesn’t reveal himself. The team deals with his goon squad quite frequently, but they can reveal nothing either. Modok has told them nothing. As the world begins to rebuild from the devastation, the people feel like the crisis is over. Only the Avengers would be unable to feel at ease.  
“You know Modok is just waiting for the right time to strike at us again,” Sam says.  
“He will, and we’ll beat him again,” Tony says. “Right now our priority is helping rebuild. The last thing we want to happen is for Kang’s alleged future to come to pass.”  
“He’s been in our custody for two weeks. He hasn’t tried to escape, what if he was telling the truth,” Bruce says.  
“I’m still not sure we should take that risk,” Tony replies. “He could have his own plan to eliminate us.”  
While the older Avengers debate, Talia would have her own meeting with Kang.  
“Greetings young one. I must say you took your time coming to see me,” Kang says.  
“You knew that I would?”  
“I wouldn’t be from the future if I didn’t know how this is going to play out.”  
“Uncle Tony doesn’t believe you’re from the future. He thinks you’re just the lunatic of the week that the Avengers have dealt with before.”  
“Tony Stark only believes in what he can see. He is grounded in reality. I wonder, what do you believe?”  
“I believe in the Avengers. I believe we can win.”  
“What if I told you that you could fix this. What if I told you that you could see your parents and your brother again. Would you believe me if I said that you were the key to restoring your original timeline?”  
“If you told me all that were true, then I would believe you were crazy.”  
“Maybe I am. I can make all that happen. I’m just giving you something to think about. The decision is yours.”  
“How do I know that I can trust you?”  
“You don’t, you should only trust yourself.” Kang says no more to Talia and she walks away, but his words would stay with her, and she would think about them.


	21. Decisions

Tony and Jarvis would spend days still trying to locate Modok. Wherever he is hiding would be undetectable for them. Little did they know he was right under their noses. He had gone back to his own tower in New York. Kang would still be the primary concern and Tony would question him again.  
“So your search for Modok has still come up empty, hasn’t it Stark,” Kang mocks.  
“I know you know where he is. You want to help, give up his location. We can end this war as soon as we lock him up in the Vault.”  
“I could tell you, but just locking him up won’t fix this. One of you must travel sixteen years into the past. Stopping the virus from being uploaded is the only way to ensure these events do not happen.”  
“Even if we believed you, not one of us trusts you enough to take a team member back to where all this began.”  
“Then all our futures are lost. I’m not asking for your trust, I just want to correct a wrong that the Council made. The only way I can do that is to go back and stop my other self from helping Modok.”  
“Now you talk about stopping yourself. Somehow I think you wanted the Avengers to fall, either Modok would do it, or you would. Your endgame is our deaths.”  
“As I told the young lady, you only believe what you can see. There are forces in the world that you cannot see and they are there all the same.”  
“What young lady? Who on my team did you try to corrupt with this time travel bullshit?”  
“She’s not told you? Best you find out on your own then. I will say no more.”  
Tony walks away, frustrated. Talia would come to him shortly having made a choice she thinks will be the right decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapters have gotten a lot shorter, I know. The story is getting close to the end so this was intentional. I didn't want a lot going on until the last few chapters, especially with a couple of major plot twists in the works.


	22. Desperate Measures

As the days pass, Modok has still not revealed himself. Many of the Avengers are starting to feel desperation. This war has taken so much of their time; they still want to end it. Talia and Becca had a long discussion about Kang and what he said. While they don’t feel he can be trusted, both of them wonder if it is possible to go back and fix the damage caused.   
“Uncle Tony, can I speak to you for a minute,” Talia asks.  
“Sure, kid, what’s up?”  
“I’ve been thinking a lot about what Kang said. Do you really think there’s a chance one of us could go back in time and change what happened?”  
“Talia, I would like to believe it. But we really don’t know anything about Kang. He comes here, claiming to be able to fix what happened, and then we find out he was the cause of it.”  
“But what if one of us was the key to correcting the timeline? What if we could save my parents, Becca’s parents, my brother and Aunt Pepper? Shouldn’t we at least make the attempt?”  
“Talia, I know you’re still hurting. So are all of us. I would give anything to go back and save Pepper, and everyone who died. But there is this theory, called the Butterfly Effect. If what Kang proposes is possible, you could conceivably change one thing, but ultimately you would change everything.”  
“I’ve heard of that theory. But isn’t what he’s proposing not stopping their deaths, just stopping Modok from uploading the virus that takes the tower down?”  
“You were the one he talked to, he made you believe he could fix this, didn’t he?”  
“I was, I don’t know if I believe him. I only know that after everything we’ve seen, and all the stories I’ve heard, if there is a fighting chance to save the world, and undo the damage Modok caused, someone should take the chance.”  
“I think you’re expecting me to tell you not to do this. I can’t, because just as much as you, I want to be able to see all of my friends, and my wife again.”  
“So what are you telling me to do Uncle Tony?”  
“I’m telling you what your father would. Do what you feel is right, in your heart.”  
Having now gotten advice from Kang, Becca, and Tony, Talia has a tough choice to make. Tony would confront Kang one more time, before she could.  
“Well, Stark; I’m surprised to see you again. No doubt you have discovered who I spoke too,” Kang asks.  
“Shut it future boy. How could you put all that bullshit in her head,” Tony says angrily. “She’s just a child. You gave her false hopes, you preyed on her feelings in a time of grief.”  
“I did nothing of the sort. I only gave her something to think about,” Kang replies.  
“Is that so? Well, then you can prove it. You’re coming with me.”  
“Are you actually releasing me from this cell?”  
“You’ve got a temporary reprieve. You’re going to go upstairs and tell the truth.”   
Tony escorts him upstairs to the cabin, expecting Kang to explain himself without any time travel speeches. The rest of the team would not be pleased to see him free from imprisonment.  
“What the hell, Tony, you’re letting him loose,” Rhodey asks.  
“I’m letting him explain himself. He’s got one chance to convince us he can do what he claims,” Tony replies.  
“What is there left to explain, Stark,” Kang asks. “I showed you Chronopolis before and after Modok’s devastation.”  
“Anybody can create false video like that. HYDRA did it for years before they finally fell,” Tony tells him.  
“There is no more time to debate this; I must take one of you back in time. Every minute we delay is enough for Modok to continue his path of destruction.”  
“If you’re so certain of this Kang, then you can take me with you, no one knows Avengers tower better than I do.”  
“No, Stark, you cannot be the one to go.”  
“Why not,” Carol asks.  
“Because he was already there. I can only take someone who didn’t exist yet, sixteen years ago.  
“Forget it Kang. You’re not risking the lives of either of these kids. I won’t allow it,” Sam says.  
The Avengers all start to defend the children and there is a lot of talk suggesting throwing Kang right back in his cell. Talia would make the decision Kang told her was hers.  
“Enough of this. One of us has to go back. I want to be the one,” she says.  
“Talia, you really should think this through, what if Kang is playing us. He could strand you somewhere,” Bruce says.  
“I have thought this through, Bruce. I have to do what my heart tells me is right. It’s what my Dad would have done. I’m going to trust him, besides I can defend myself if this is a ruse.”  
“Time grows short, young one. We must be going,” Kang says.  
“Wait a minute,” Tony interrupts. “To succeed, you’re going to need this.” He hands Talia a flash drive.  
“What’s this Tony? What can it do,” she asks.  
“This flash drive contains Avengers Tower Security Protocol Fifteen. I started working on it a few years ago. Jarvis and I just finished. Plug this into the tower’s central computer, you know where that is. It should override Modok’s hack, and destroy the virus.”  
“It should, how do you know,” Talia questions.  
“I had this with me when I hacked Modok’s tower control. I was able to obtain the codes to his virus from the central systems. Good luck, Black Widow.”


	23. Long Good-bye

Some people don’t believe in the word good-bye. Over the years the Avengers have lost many friends and team-mates. But good-bye is a word they seldom use. This is why it’s hard for them to accept Talia is leaving them. It’s even harder for her. If she succeeds in her mission, this timeline will cease to exist. As hard as it is, the reward will outweigh the risk.  
“Talia, you really shouldn’t go back by yourself,” Becca says.  
“Becks, I have to go. Kang is taking me, so I’m not going alone.”  
“That’s not what I meant. I still don’t trust him. I should come with you.”  
“Kang says he can only transport two people back. I don’t want to have you risk yourself unnecessarily.”  
“You really believe he’s telling us all the truth?”  
“No, I don’t. But you’re my sister, Becks. I can’t lose you too. Please, stay and help Uncle Tony.”  
“This is the first time you called me your sister.”  
“Uncle Clint was like a brother to Mom, blood related or not, you are my sister.”  
With that statement, Becca knows that Talia trusts her to look after the rest of the team. However, Becca would make a decision that would ensure Kang would be held to his word.  
“The time has come, young one; we must travel back sixteen years to stop Modok,” Kang says.  
“I’m ready. Just remember, I expect you to do the right thing.”  
“You need not worry. My goal is to undo all the damage created.”  
Kang activates his time travel device and in a flash of light, he and Talia disappear, but Becca manages to stow away, unseen.


	24. Final Battle

As Kang, Talia and Becca are transported to the past; Modok would finally decide it was time to attack the Avengers again. He would attack alone, and as well as try to stop Kang from helping them. His mistake would be believing the results would be different this time.  
“Avengers, I know you’ve been looking for me. Hand over the traitor Kang, and this time I will spare your lives,” Modok says.  
“Spare our lives,” Tony questions. “I’ll believe that like I believe Arizona has ocean front property. So you found the cabin. Quite frankly I expected you to find it sooner. Losing your edge, Modork?”  
“I’ve lost nothing Stark. I see your ego still runs rampant. Again; hand Kang over.”  
“Can’t give you who we don’t have, Kang has traveled back in time to stop you. Along with one of ours.”  
“You fool! You have no idea what you’ve done,” Modok screams. “Kang doesn’t want to fix the past to save the future. He wants to take what I’ve done and eliminate you completely.”  
“That is what you tried to do,” Sam says. “I wasn’t there but I saw the aftermath.”  
“Kang showed us what Project Inferno did to his timeline, I can’t believe that what he could do would be worse than what you could,” Carol says.  
“Stark, I know you’ve been working on your own time travel device. You must have completed it by now. You will send me back so I can stop Kang,” Modok demands.  
“Sorry, Modok, reports of a Stark time travel device were greatly exaggerated. I used them to draw you out. Avengers, let’s finish this.”  
The Avengers waste no time in starting their final battle with Modok. He tries to use the technology in the cabin against them. He didn’t count on Tony and Jarvis being able to completely upgrade the defenses to be impervious to his technopathy. The battle is short, and Modok is defeated again. One other defensive upgrade Tony created was a new type of neural inhibitor to place inside Modok’s headgear. While Modok was distracted, Tony launched a small bug that would be able to enter the device, rendering it useless. With the end of the war, The Avenger’s only hope lies with their youngest team members, in the past.


	25. Sixteen Years ago

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kang and Talia have arrived in the past. Her hope is to fix the timeline, saving her parents, Clint, Bobbi, Pepper, and James.

The time jump was successful. Kang and Talia have arrived at the exact day when Modok attacked and planted the virus. The only thing they didn’t know was that Becca made the jump with them. As The Avengers go to confront Modok, Talia makes her way to the central control room with the flash drive ready.   
“All right, we’re here,” she says. And there, just as I remember it, is the main computer.” Finding the u.s.b. port she inserts the drive, which immediately begins uploading the newest security protocol. “Even with all his technical knowledge, Uncle Tony still uses a flash drive to upload security protocols,” Talia remarks, amused.  
“Hurry, young one, time grows short. The battle will conclude soon,” Kang says.  
Talia knows that her companion is rushing her, and she wonders why. He has just as much to lose if this fails. While the new protocols upload, she would think about this. When the upload is complete, Jarvis would regain control of the tower, and begin reconstructing his systems.  
“Avengers Tower Security Protocol Fifteen installed and commencing directives. Virus Modok1 detected. Codes are now being rewritten and virus being disabled. After ten minutes the process is complete.  
“Avengers Tower Security is now active. Modok’s corruption has been eradicated. Congratulations, Sir, you have successfully stopped Modok’s plans to erase me.”  
“Congratulations, young one,” Kang says. “You have successfully defeated Modok. It’s a pity that I must now take what he was planning to do, and multiply it. The future will be mine to rule, and the Council will be but a memory.”  
“You planned to betray me all along,” Talia says.   
“Indeed, with your help, I can now install my own directives into the tower, and Jarvis will believe they all come from Stark. I should thank you, the key to all of this was to disable Modok’s virus. It’s a shame I now have to kill you.”  
“NO,” a voice screams from above them. An arrow is fired from the rafters, and it hits Kang point blank in the heart. When it makes contact, 10,000 volts of electricity course through his body, disabling him. Becca climbs down, surprising Talia.  
“I knew we couldn’t trust you Kang. Don’t try to move, that’s a Taser arrow. Uncle Tony made it for me, from an original version developed by my Dad,” she says.  
“Becca, how did you follow us,” Talia asks.  
“Uncle Tony and Jarvis, they developed a time travel device that would link to Kang’s own.”  
“I’m glad you’re here sis. Let’s finish this.”  
Only one final task remains. Talia has to input the codes Tony gave her to completely restore the systems. He gave her these, unbeknownst to Kang, as he was setting the coordinates for the jump. While the final codes are being entered, Modok is making his threat to the Avengers, and the girls hear it played by Jarvis.  
“This isn’t over Stark, my Cabal will return and next time the Avengers will fall.”  
“We’ll be ready for you Modok,” Tony says.   
“That’s it, Becks, our job is done. If we were successful, our timeline is going to disappear.   
“It’s a good sacrifice we made. I hope it plays out,” she replies.  
As they start to fade, Tasha, and Bobbi enter the control room, alerted by Jarvis to intruders.  
“Who are you two? How did you get in here,” Tasha asks.  
“We’re friends; we came here to help stop Modok’s plans. You won’t remember us, but my name is Talia Rogers, it was good to see you again, Mom.”  
“Becca Barton, Mom, be sure to take care of Dad.”  
As the girls faded from existence, Tasha and Bobbi’s memories of them faded as well. Kang is just regaining consciousness on the floor with the arrow in his chest. Steve and Clint had heard Tasha and Bobbi talking to someone, and rushed in to help if they were under attack. Only seeing one intruder, they are confused.  
“Tasha, I see you got the intruder. Were you talking to someone in here,” Steve asks.  
“I can’t remember, I thought I saw this girl, and she called me Mom. I know we’ve started talking about having kids. It feels like a dream.”  
“If it was a dream, I had the same one,” Bobbi says. I guess we might have taken a shock from Clint’s Taser arrow. I just didn’t know you’d made them strong enough to cause hallucinations.”  
“I didn’t,” Clint replies. This isn’t one of my arrows.”   
As Clint reaches down to take the arrow and examine it, it fades from existence.  
“What arrow, Clint,” Steve asks.  
“I don’t know, something weird is going on,” he replies.  
“Well, I see no reason we can’t get our answers from this intruder,” Steve says. “Maybe he can explain what’s happening.”  
Kang has now fully regained consciousness and activates his time travel device.  
“Sorry, Avengers, but I won’t be giving you any answers today. We’ll meet another time,” Kang says as he transports himself back to his own timeline.  
The four friends aren’t surprised by the teleportation. As Clint and Bobbi leave to talk to Tony, Tasha brings up the idea of kids again.  
“Steve, if we have a daughter, I was thinking we could name her Talia.  
“That’s a beautiful first name, how about Alaina for her middle name?”  
“Talia Alaina Rogers, I like the sound of that,” Tasha replies.


	26. Restored

When the new security directives were installed in the tower the future was reset. Many things that occurred still happened the way they did before. The twins were born, and The Avengers celebrated the new additions to their family.   
“They’re beautiful, you guys,” Bobbi says looking down at James and Talia.  
“I promise we’ll take care of them any time you need us to,” Clint says.  
“Hey Clint, I want a daughter,” Bobbi says.  
“Slow down, Bobbi, you were the one who called me baby crazy,” Clint replies.  
As before, Clint and Bobbi had a daughter two years later. Everything was back to normal, as normal as it can get when you’re a family of super heroes anyway.


	27. Council Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kang returns to his own timeline to find everything back the way it should be. He meets with the council one more time.

The first place Kang went when he returned to his timeline was his own kingdom. Everything was restored to the way it was before Modok launched his attack.  
Summoned to meet with the Council he prepares to accept whatever fate they deem necessary.  
“Greetings, Kang. The prime councilman says. “You have returned to find Chronopolis restored?”  
“I have,” Kang replies. I accept the punishment you deem fitting for my betrayal.”  
“Punishment, there will be no punishment. You have done exactly what we expected from you.”  
“I don’t understand. I used the Avengers to stop Modok from destroying our worlds.”  
“And thus, the prophecy came to pass. The Child of an Avenger was meant to destroy everything. Everything Modok was capable of would have meant the end of all things. Therefore the Avenger’s child was meant to fix the future. That was the prophecy.”  
Kang is furious at this revelation, because now he knows he just helped the Avengers save the world, when he wanted to rule it all without the Council. In essence the results of his actions actually ran counter to his plan.  
“You lied to me! The prophecy said that if the Avengers were successful our timeline would never exist.”  
“We did what was necessary. We knew you planned to remove the Council and rule all yourself. Modok was a pawn to get you to take action. You have betrayed yourself.”  
Without another word, Kang teleports himself from the council chambers, to his own home.


	28. Fifteenth Birthday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything is back as it should be, and we return to the morning of the twins fifteenth birthday.

The morning of James and Talia’s fifteenth birthday came. Steve and Tasha decided this would be big because next year their kids would have the freedom to leave the tower on their own. Driving, dating, and growing up. As Tasha finishes preparing the kids their favorite breakfast, Steve is just waking up.  
“Morning beautiful,” Steve says.  
“Well, good morning to you too, sleepy head. It’s late morning. I was beginning to think you’d sleep the whole day away, she replies with a smile.  
“Not a chance, not even The Red Skull, HYDRA and the Masters of Evil could keep me from missing this day.”  
“Well, let’s hope they don’t start something today.” Tasha walks back over to sit with Steve on the couch where he just woken up.   
“You had a rough assignment yesterday; you came in and crashed after kissing me hello. You’re getting old Rogers.”  
“I am 112 now. Luckily you keep me feeling young. At least your mission went off without a hitch.”  
“My mission was a cakewalk. I keep telling you you’re only as old as you feel.”  
As the kids come in for breakfast, they see their Mom sitting on their Dad’s lap, in the midst of a deep passionate kiss.  
“Oh come on, Mom. Can’t you guys go to your room if you’re going to do that,” James says. “We don’t want to see you making out with Dad when we first get up on our birthday.”  
“Hey, leave them alone. I didn’t whine when I caught you making out with Becca in Uncle Tony’s movie theater,” Talia says.  
Steve and Tasha look at each other and both say the same thing: “They take after you, you know.” They both burst into laughter at the shared joke, and James just rolls his eyes.  
“God you two are so lame,” he says.  
“Maybe so, son, but you better get ready, because it’s genetic,” Steve says. He and Tasha break into laughter again. As their laughter dies down, the conversation turns back to the birthday plans.  
“So what do you two want to do for your birthday,” Tasha asks them.  
As usual the kids can’t agree on one thing as James wants to visit SHIELD headquarters and Talia wants to visit the Smithsonian. As discussions continue, Tony comes on the building’s P.A. system.  
“All Avengers report to the situation room. We have a level 7 priority alert.”  
“All right kids, this sounds important. Let’s go,” Steve says.  
As they head downstairs, Bobbi, Clint and Becca have joined them. When they arrive at the situation room, the lights are out. The kids are worried about danger, but with their parents in the lead, they know they will be safe.   
“All right, kids, stay close, we’re not sure what happened in there, but stay alert,” Clint says.  
As they enter the room Jarvis brings up the lights and the rest of the Avengers all jump out from hiding places to surprise them.  
Steve, Tasha, Bobbi, Clint and Becca planned a surprise party for James and Talia. The party went exactly as planned with no attacks, and no threats. Surrounded by family and friends, Phil brought his team in as well, the event ended perfectly, and the Avengers would fight another day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone enjoyed the story. For how dark it started, it did have a happy ending. Writing the death scenes was really difficult, especially when Steve, Nat, Clint and Bobbi died sacrificing their lives in the first chapter. Like Phil Coulson, Captain America has always been my favorite super hero. I thought that having Becca and Talia sacrifice themselves sixteen years in the past made for a good ending to restore their own original timeline. This is the end of the series, but I'm working on a follow-up piece, all about the kids, set six years after the events of this story. It will be posted when it is complete.


End file.
